


Does This Mean Yes?

by chvotic



Series: Kiddie Peter One Shots [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Adoption, Anxiety, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Crying, Cute, Cute Peter Parker, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, Nerves, No Infinity War, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker-centric, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, happy tears, he gets one, i thought of this and had to write it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-04 20:49:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17905391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chvotic/pseuds/chvotic
Summary: "You already gave me a card." Tony mumbled, seemingly to himself as he opened it, Peter not asking him to read it out loud this time.Peter swore he didn't breathe for a solid minute as Tony read through the card, an unreadable expression on his father figure's face.Then, to Peter's utter surprise, Tony put a hand over his mouth, his eyebrows furrowing in a way that alerted Peter that he might... cry?Or, in which, Peter asks Tony a very important question through his birthday presents.





	Does This Mean Yes?

**Author's Note:**

> y'all i saw a cute video on youtube where a girl asks her mum to adopt her through christmas presents, and i could not :') just :') let :') the :') opportunity :') pass :')
> 
> i slammed this out in about half an hour, sorry if it's a bit shit, but i thought the idea was adorable and i would die for peter and tony. so, here you go!
> 
> this isn't really a kid one shot but it's going in the series anyways 
> 
> also: may died (sorry) and pepperony isn't a thing.
> 
> enjoy!

Peter was very, very nervous.

Today was May twenty-ninth, and it was currently six thirty in the morning. Peter lay awake in his bed, staring up at the roof, three perfectly wrapped presents sitting on his desk with a card on top as his stomach churned with nerves. He was that nervous that the sickening feeling had morphed into his dreams, which had therefore woken him up nearly two hours ago. He had been unable to fall back asleep since then, and the fear and anxiety that was constantly running through his mind making him want to vomit.

He laid there until he could not stand the churning feeling any longer, finally sitting up and running a hand through his bed hair. His eyes found the presents in the darkness, the only light being the little that was streaming through his closed curtains. It wasn't the presents themselves that was giving him all the anxiety, it was the little card hidden in one of them that was making all of his senses go haywire.

Inside of the biggest present, a hand-made picture album Peter had made, there was a card. 

Tony's actual birthday card, the one on top being a false one, the real one hidden within the album. 

Peter was going to ask Tony to adopt him.

Just the thought made his stomach lurch, his hands trembling when he ran them through his hair for a second time. He was sure that Tony would already be up and in the lab, like he always was, despite how many times he had been told to go sleep. Sometimes Tony slept, and Peter knew because he was always there with him. It was some of his favourite moments with his mentor, and that sealed Peter's choice of wanting Tony to adopt him.

To Peter, Tony wasn't really his mentor anymore. Now, it just sounded strange to say. It was a little scary to think that Peter had begun to think of Tony as his Dad after all of these years, but he really couldn't think of him as anything else. Tony had taken him in when May died, and even before then he had never felt something like this since Uncle Ben.

So, it felt right to ask such a huge question.

But at the same time, it was fucking terrifying.

Peter dragged himself into the bathroom, immediately stripping down and stood under the hot water, taking as long as he possibly could. He had this entire thing planned out.

He would go down to the lab, assuming that his mentor/father figure was down there. He would make sure they were alone before he gave the presents, which he knew they would be, because everyone was coming over at twelve on the dot. The thing was, Tony didn't know that, and was most likely thinking he would spend his forty-eighth birthday down in his lab with his bots and Peter.

If Tony actually thought that was what was happening, he was naive for thinking that Peter would allow that.

Once he was finished with his shower, he quickly got dressed and gathered the presents in his arms, balancing all three of them as he made his way over to the door. He paused when he got there, taking a deep breath, his heart pounding loudly in his ears as he used his elbow to open the door, all the while talking to FRIDAY.

"Where is Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, knowing that it had to be around seven now. 

"Boss is currently in the lab. Would you like me to let him know that you're coming?"

"No, don't. I want this to be a surprise." Peter replied quickly, swallowing down all of his nerves and hurried over to the lift as quickly as he could. He almost had a heart attack when he tripped over his own foot, using his senses and quick reflexes to save both himself and the presents he had balanced in his arms, sighing in relief when none of the presents went flying onto the floor. He'd rather not break the cup he had personalised just for Tony, sighing in relief when he made it to the open lift doors without any fatalities. "What is he doing?"

"Mr. Stark is currently working on his nanotech Iron Man suit." FRIDAY replied automatically, the doors closing and sealing Peter's fate. Either this was going to go down really well or really bad, and he could only imagine the thousands of possibilities. Holding the album at the bottom of his stack felt like he was holding a weight, all of his anxiety and worrying all heading straight for that present particularly. Not only had he been working on that album since Tony's last birthday, when he had gotten the idea, but there was something so much more important than the hundreds of pictures he had taken in secret.

No, the request for adoption wasn't in official forms, because Tony would know about that if Peter had gone through with that. But there was that simple question that made Peter want to empty everything out of his stomach, even if he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. Even then, he had hardly been able to eat anything because he was so nervous. Tony had looked at him strange, asked him if he was feeling sick, and Peter hadn't lied. Yes, he had been feeling sick. Everything he tried to eat left a bad taste in his mouth. But that was because he was nervous as fuck for the next day, but Tony had no idea about that. He had sent Peter to bed early because he genuinely thought he was sick, and Peter let him believe so.

So, Peter hadn't seen Tony since around nine the previous night, when the man had come into his room an hour after he had sent Peter off. Peter had been half asleep, though aware of his father's presence, and had registered the kiss on the forehead he had received. The entire few minutes that Tony had been in his room, he had been a bundle of nerves. Peter was sure Tony would have seen the gifts on his desk.

All of these thoughts went through Peter's head as the lift made it's decent, hugging his precious cargo to his chest as he watched the floor numbers change. Before he knew it, the doors were opening, and Tony came into view.

The man had his back to Peter, AC/DC blasting through the lab so loud it made Peter's sensitive ears ache, though he repressed his wince and refused to hesitate. It was now or never.

He could probably turn back around and leave unnoticed, but he couldn't do that. He couldn't chicken out. He had to do this.

So, he walked into the workshop until he was right behind Tony, trying to figure out a way to tap the man on the shoulder without dropping any of the boxes. He settled for kicking the back of Tony's foot with his own, almost laughing when Tony jumped and dropped whatever he was holding. Almost as if on queue, the music's volume lessoned and Tony was turning around, face angry, ready to snap.

Peter saw the exact moment where Tony faltered, the anger retreating from his expression immediately as if he were expecting someone else to be standing behind him. Peter plastered a huge, semi-real smile on his face when Tony looked at the presents in his arms and then met his eyes, his entire body quivering with severe anxiety as he watched Tony struggle for words. "Happy Birthday Mr. Stark!"

Tony spluttered, fully turning around and stood up properly. Peter continued to smile, thrusting the presents at Tony, who seemed to have no idea to react. 

As if the man's brain had rebooted, he finally reacted with a shaky and unsure smile. "What're these, Petey?"

Peter's grin widened, though the nerves never left. "It's your birthday, Mr. Stark. Did you forget?"

"No." Tony replied, gesturing for him to move to the desk. Peter did so, setting the three presents down after Tony cleared multiple tools and blueprints out of the way. Peter twiddled his thumbs, looking between Tony and the presents, waiting for something to happen. "You got... presents."

"Of course I did!" Peter spluttered, crossing his arms to hide his shaking hands. "I did last year, too!"

"I know you did." Tony replied, his finger running over the false card Peter had placed on top. "You only got me one thing last year, Pete. Not three."

"It's your birthday!" Peter repeated, not really sure how to answer Tony. "Open them!"

Tony looked at him for a few moments before grabbing the card, wasting no time in ripping it open. Peter's insides were performing their own kind of gymnastics routine as he watched Tony open the card, watching the man's eyes scan over the words with a fond smile. "Read it out loud."

Tony didn't even look at him, or complain. He simply read. "Dear Mr. Stark. Kid, will you ever call me Tony?"

"No." He was thinking something along the lines of Dad, instead. "Keep reading."

Tony sighed, Peter absolutely loving the smile on his father's face. "It's your forty-eighth birthday today! Wow, you're old." Tony scoffed. "I don't really have much to say so, happy birthday Mr. Stark! You better like my presents. Love, Peter."

Tony looked at him with raised eyebrows, still smiling. "What a lovely card, Peter."

Peter smiled, feeling the corners of his mouth shake and sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. Tony didn't seem to notice. "Open your presents!"

Tony went for the album first, and Peter swore he almost had a cardiac right there on the spot.

"No! You gotta open that one first." Peter pointed to the present containing the cup. 

"There's an order to this?" Tony put the album down and grabbed the cup instead. "Did you wrap these, kid? I don't remember you being so good at wrapping."

"I did!" Peter spat, watching Tony rip the paper off of the box. "I did, Mr. Stark!"

"I'm proud." Tony replied absentmindedly, tossing the paper away and looked at the box. He began opening it, pulling out the cup with bubblewrap wrapped all around it. The man wasted no time in taking that off, too, already reading the words presented on the cup. Peter's heart ached when Tony's face twisted in something he couldn't decipher for a few seconds, before returning to that genuine smile like a switch had been flicked. "World's best Dad. Thanks Petey."

Peter grinned when Tony looked at him, sighing when Tony looked back at the cup. If he was having a good reaction to the cup, maybe he wouldn't react too badly to the second card he didn't know about. 

Peter reached for the album again, looking at Peter. When Peter gave him a look, he rolled his eyes and went for the other present instead. This one was a drawing Peter had drawn when he was young, one he had found a few months after May had died. He kept it precisely for now, and had it framed and everything. He just hoped that Tony would like it.

Again, wasting no time, Tony ripped the present open and smiled again, wider this time. "Did you draw this?"

"Yes!" Peter exclaimed, grinning cheerfully. "It was before the StarkExpo."

"What's this supposed to be? An orange?"

Peter gasped mock-offendedly. "That's me!"

"Oh, I couldn't tell." Tony smiled at him, winking, before placing the frame next to the cup. Now, he was reaching for the album, and there was no going back. Peter felt the sweat beading even more, soaking his armpits, forehead, making him hot all over. Anxiety made his muscles quiver as Tony ripped the red wrapping paper off, running his hands over the thick cover of the album Peter had spent months trying to find. "A picture album?"

"Open it." Peter mumbled, watching when Tony opened the cover of the album. On the front was a picture of Peter and Tony in Germany, one he had gotten from the vlogs Peter had been making back then. He watched as Tony ran his finger over it, seeming to laugh to himself, before he went to the next page. These were pictures Peter had taken when Tony wasn't paying attention, such as multiple ones from the lab that extended over lots of pages of the album. There was a few were Peter had gotten a reluctant Tony to pose, and one of Tony fast asleep with Peter grinning into the camera. 

Peter was so terribly worried as Tony got closer and closer to the page with the hidden card, watching every movement and facial expression that Tony made as he looked over every picture. When he got to the pages Peter had hidden the card in-between, sighing shakily when Tony picked it up. "What's this?"

"Open it." Peter said for the umpteenth time, his voice shaking. Tony didn't look at him as he opened it, pulling out the Iron Man themed birthday card that was probably meant for four-year-olds, but when he bought it, he couldn't care less.

"You already gave me a card." Tony mumbled, seemingly to himself as he opened it, Peter not asking him to read it out loud this time. 

Peter swore he didn't breathe for a solid minute as Tony read through the card, an unreadable expression on his father figure's face. 

Then, to Peter's utter surprise, Tony put a hand over his mouth, his eyebrows furrowing in a way that alerted Peter that he might... cry? 

Peter watched with a pounding heart, Tony's resolve seeming to crack the longer he looked down at the card, his hand beginning to shake. Peter couldn't help but think the worst, that Tony hated it, and that he was angry with Peter's proposition. But when the man looked back up at him, obviously trying to contain his emotion, Peter knew it was the opposite. 

Before Peter could say anything, Tony was grabbing him by the shoulder and yanked him forwards into a hug, Peter too shocked for a few moments to react. He recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around Tony's waist, burying his face in his shoulder. Tony was shaking, saying nothing, shaky breaths leaving his mouth as he was obviously trying not to cry. Peter had no idea what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. 

His eyes had begun to well up, also, beginning to feel overwhelmed. Did this mean yes?

After a few long, tense minutes, Tony pulled away and kept Peter within arms reach, hands resting on his shoulders. There were definite tears running down his mentor's face, and Peter knew from this exact moment that he hated seeing his father cry. He was crying, himself, chewing on his lip and trying his hardest not to. 

Tony used his right hand to wipe away Peter's tears, a wet laugh leaving his mouth. "Congrats, Pete, you made Tony Stark cry."

Peter couldn't laugh, feeling too choked up to even say anything. Tony pulled him into another hug, resting his chin on the top of Peter's head, rubbing his back a few times. Peter spoke into Tony's shoulder, his voice muffled. "Does this mean yes?"

"Yes, Peter. Of course." Peter never knew he would experience Tony Stark dissolving into tears, but here he was. "Of course I will."

"I love you, Dad." Peter mumbled riskily, knowing Tony heard it because of the way he tensed up, then kissed the top of his head.

"Love you too, kiddie."

Peter couldn't have been happier.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to comment some prompts for this series :)


End file.
